"Oh give me a break..."I snorted as I unlocked the door.

"I change my mind Woody, it's not a stick up your ass it's a two by four..." he muttered. If he weren't standing toe to toe with him I would have missed it.

"I don't have anything up my butt.  It's just you Calvin.  Since the day you were born you have had the ability to suck all the air out of a room just by being in it."

Cal physically pushed me aside to stride into the storage unit.  He stood with his hands on his hips apparently trying to decide where to start.

"Not always...you'd usually beat me to it.....here, you're a cop.  It wouldn't be good finding your figure prints all over this place." He pulled out a set of latex gloves out of his back pocket.

 It was only then that I noticed he already had a pair on himself.  I was running around so half cocked I had completely forgotten why we were there in the first place.

"Thanks." I said sheepishly and donned the gloves.  With a sigh I pointed to a corner of the unit. I began to search it while Cal started on the opposite side.

"Why are you really here Cal? Why did you have to come to Boston? Was it  to prove to me just pathetic my life really is?"

Cal used his foot to push a box over at me.  "Here Woody, I think this box is sturdy enough to hold you.  You'll excuse me if I don't pull up a chair to listen though..."

"You were in town less then an hour before you had to rub it in about Bobby Knapp taking over my life back home."

He stood up and looked at me for a second. "Get over yourself brother dear. You got it sweet here.  And if I remember right you were the one who brought up the subject on the way to your place from the airport.  What the hell do you care anyway?  You left home behind and never looked back." 

Cal pulled a stack of boxes aside and stepped deeper into the storage unit. I abandoned the corner I was searching and moved over to a set of suitcases.

"Look who's calling the kettle black.  What about you?  Calvin, you couldn't wait to leave Kewaunee.  It still amazes me you ever came back."

Mumbling something I couldn't understand, Cal stepped out from behind the stack of boxes he had a trail of cobwebs following him. I fought the impulse to check for the trail I knew was hanging off me.

"I didn't have choice.  It was either get out or go through life listening to Dad's every other Thursday speech 'Why Couldn't You Be More Like Your Brother?'... I was always being compared you, and always kept coming up short."

"Coming up short Cal?  You've lived a life that Hemingway would envy.  I just go through the motions."

"Woody you had your life planned out by the time you were twelve.  When I was twelve I was still trying to figure out how they put toothpaste in the tube.  I had to play catch up.  I had to work harder, play harder...After awhile it was just easier to go off the deep end.  Within the first semester at Annapolis I knew I had made a mistake.  But it was too late.  I couldn't go back home like that.  You had just left the Police Academy the top of your class and waltzed back into town right were you knew you would be.  The perfect job, the perfect girl on your arm and Dad bragging to anyone who would listen....Have you looked over there yet?" 

Cal pointed to a utility bench sitting against the back of the storage room.  I shook my head. I was too shocked by what I was hearing to speak.

"I stuck it out for as long as I could.  One night I was flying a training mission over the North Atlantic freezing my ass off and thinking about an email I had received from you earlier in the day.  You had sent me a picture of the three of you... you, Annie & Bobby All water-skiing out on the lake.  You all looked so happy.  I could almost hear the engine on the old man's boat.  I wanted to be there so bad I could taste it.  I realize now that that picture was the reason I quit the Corps..............Why did you leave Wisconsin the second I found my way home?"

The question came out of the blue.  I stopped what I was doing and looked over at him.  He was busy digging through a stack of forgotten periodicals by the looks of the papers in his hands.  With a snort he tossed them back in the box and began to dig further under the bench.

I did have to admit that the itch to leave Kewaunee became unbearable when he landed inside the city limits with bags in tow.   It was easier to hate him when he was somewhere else on the planet.  But I never thought he was the reason I left.

"Do you think I left home because of you?"

"If the shoe fits..."

 He pulled back from under the bench with a large box in hands. He sat down heavily on the floor and began to search it.

"Cal, I left because I needed something else.  There was this little voice in my head that said I didn't belong there anymore."

"Ironic. My little voice said get your ass back where you belong......Bingo!  I found it."

I stepped closer and looked over his shoulder.  He lifted out a zip-lock bag full of what looked like yellow sand out from the box.

"Woody, hang on to this."

He handed me the bag and pulled a small evidence bag out of the same pocket he pulled the gloves out of.  He apparently was very busy while sitting in the backseat of Jordan's SUV.  I had to wonder what else he took.  We managed to get a small sample of the pesticide and went about returning the storage unit back to the way it was when we got there.  With in moments we were heading toward the stairs.

The fire door slowly opened.  We looked at each other and dashed in opposite directions to hide.  All I could think of was that the insomniac with the little dog had got suspicious and called for help.  This night was getting better and better.  From were I hid I couldn't get a good view of the door.  I heard soft steps walking around toward the storage unit we had just searched.  There was a muffled, decidedly feminine yelp followed by Cal's deep chuckle.

I rushed around the corner to see Jordan pushing an amused Cal against a chain link wall. My relief was palpable.

"You scared the crap out of me. What is taking you two so long?  I was beginning to think you got lost."

Cal lifted the evidence bag up in front of Jordan's face.

"This it?"

"Yep"

Jordan quickly grabbed the bag and stuffed it in her bag. "Let' gets get out of here."

Cal led the way out of the building.  The trip out was much easier than the trip in.  Other than a stray word here or there to Jordan, Cal was silent.  I turned and looked at him sitting in the backseat of Jordan's SUV as we pulled away from the building.

"Jordan, you want to drop me off at Woody's.  I think I've had enough fun for one night."

"Ah, sure thing Cal." Jordan looked over at me.

I turned back to look out of the windshield at the empty city streets. Where did everything go so wrong....

We rode in silence to my building.  Jordan had barely put the vehicle in park when Cal jumped out on to the sidewalk.  He reached his hand toward my open window and held it open, palm up.

"Relax; I won't loot your apartment while you're gone."

I reached in my pocket and pulled out my keys I put them in his hand.  Before I could say anything he turned and walked away.

"Do you care to tell me what just happened?" Jordan said from the driver's seat.

"Not really."

 I looked back out the windshield.  If Cal wanted to be like that so be it.  I still had to worry about how I was going to convince my boss that the Stephenson case needed to be reopened without telling him about how I dragged my civilian, out-of- town brother in an illegal search and seizure.  Jordan drove to the precinct.  The place was bustling as usual.  I had a few phone calls to make.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun was coming up when I stepped foot outside of the building.   Jordan had left about an hour before.  I unconsciously reached for my keys.  "Shit." I muttered.

"You look like you could use a ride."  I turned around to see Cal leaning against my car.

"That's not my parking space." Cal had obviously moved my car from its designated place down the street.

"I didn't think.....Captain Albert...how do you pronounce that?" Cal was squinting at the nameplate in front of the parking space.

"Lywyckij"

"Whatever.  I don't think ol' Bert would be parking here this early on a Sunday morning. I didn't want to miss you coming out.  I could have been sitting down the street all day if you had lucky or something.  But when I saw Jordan come out alone, awhile back, I figured I was pretty safe."  He looked off for a moment "I'm sorry how I acted earlier."

"You shouldn't be.  I've been a jerk since you called from the airport."

"True.......  Come on there's got to be an IHOP around here somewhere.  I'm starving."

I could barely keep my eyes open and the thought of just going to bed, sleeping for ten hours filled my head.  I shook my head as I watched Cal play air drums to a song that could only be heard in his own head.  Breakfast sounded like a good thing.

"Come on, there's a place around the corner."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Calvin was on his second stack of pancakes I had filled him in on what was happening with Jordan's "favor."  After a few phone calls and a little before dawn, Amy Stephenson's accountant was sitting in interrogation spilling everything. It seems the old lady was screaming for an internal audit of her estate.  He was afraid she would find about millions in mishandled funds. It was just like what Jordan had speculated.

"So basically you are telling me this guy was just plain stupid."  Cal said between hurried mouthfuls.

"Stupid; but he almost got away with it....Cal why are you eating so fast?"

"Dude I just looked at the clock."  He pointed his fork at the clock hanging on the wall behind me. It read seven o'clock. "My flight leaves in little over an hour..... You know how airport check-in is..."

"An hour?!"

Cal upended his coffee and threw his napkin on the table. "I can't miss this flight.  I have to iron a uniform.  I'm going to be on the six o'clock news tonight."

The look of confusion must have been obvious.  Cal patted my shoulder as he stood up from the booth to pay the waitress.

"I knew I stayed passed my twenty four limit by a few, but I need to be at the sheriff's office by five. We're doing a dog and pony show for the press."

I followed him out the door. "What are you talking about?"

"I start my new job Monday.  I thought I told you? With everything that happened I must have forgot."

"Ah, no you didn't." I thought if this job included a story on the six o'clock news, I probably should be concerned. "What is it?"

"Dude, I going to fly the sheriff department's new chopper.  It's sweet.   Rolls Royce engine, infrared cameras, motion sensors and a 40 million candlelight searchlight. I swear you can see that baby from the space station...."

"What about the new deputy with the redheaded wife."

"Who? Oh yeah, well...I can handle that."

For some reason I didn't think there was an issue with the new deputy. there probably never was.

"Can we talk about this on the way to the airport?  My stuff is already in the trunk. We need to go."

On the way to the airport Cal talked about the job offer.  I drove in a daze. The sheriff's department had talked about getting a helicopter for years.  Must be the funding came in. It seemed with Cal's previous military training Bobby told him the job was his if he wanted it.  Flying a helicopter was vastly different than flying an F-16. I had questions.

"Do you know how to fly one of those things?"

"I had some training in Pensacola and I just spent three weeks training with the type machine I will be using.... I got my certificate on Friday."

"You are serious aren't you?"

"Do you want to see the paper? I know it's hard to believe.  I guess if The Department couldn't keep one Hoyt they'd settle for another. The pay sucks, but gets me out of under Dad's roof.  Maybe I can moonlight in a bar.  Last night was fun."

"But you told me just yesterday you didn't have a job."

"Dude, I don't start until M-O-N-D-A-Y." He enunciated every letter. "You really don't do well without much sleep, do you." 

I gave up trying to get the straight story.  Talking to Calvin was always a jumble of random thoughts.  We pulled up to the departure gates at the airport. Cal jumped out and grabbed his bags out of the truck. After searching for his ticket for a few moments he turned to me.

"Well, I guess this is it."

"Wait. Let me park and I'll walk with you to the gate."

"There's no time bro.  They'll be calling my flight any minute. I'll send you a tape of the news report."

"You do that Cal." I put my arms around him and hugged him tightly. "I'm proud of you."   I whispered through the foreign catch in my throat.

"Would you stop that? I know this is a liberal state and all but people are going to stare."  I stepped back, picked up one of his bags and handed it to him.

 "Tell Jordan goodbye for me."

"I will."

"I can see what keeps you here in Beantown.  You got it good here Wood.  It suits you."   With a smile he turned and walked toward the sliding doors.  The shoulders of his shirt stretched from the weight of his bags.

"Hey, you still have on my good shirt!"

"I needed a new one anyway.  Thanks dude." he yelled over his shoulder. "See you quail season..."

If I don't see you first bro.  If I don't see you first. I opened the car door fell into the driver's seat. I pulled slowly away from the curb.  Home, shower, sleep.  My phone rang. With a sigh I answered it.

"Hoyt, you sound like hell."

"Good morning to you too Jordan."

"I wanted to call and say thanks for all you guys did..."

"Don't worry about it." 

 I suddenly thought about the picture I had emailed Cal just before he quit the military. I wondered if Dad would mind if I used his boat....

"Jordan?"

"Yes"

"What are you doing next weekend?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"How would you like to join my brother and me on the lake?......"

The End